By LUCAS BARASA lbarassa@ke.nationmedia.com ( email the author)
Posted Tuesday, February 5 2013 at 14:05
Posted Tuesday, February 5 2013 at 14:05
Ballot papers for presidential candidates are ready, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said.
Chief executive officer James Oswago said Tuesday a firm contracted to print the papers, Smith and Ouzman, has completed the process.
The UK firm has now embarked on the printing of ballot papers for governorship, senator and women representative positions, Mr Oswago said.
Eight candidates are battling it out for the presidency in the March 4 General Election.
Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta, Musalia Mudavadi, Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth, James ole Kiyiapi, Paul Muite and Mohammed Abduba Dida are vying to succeed President Kibaki.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing IEBC training of security officers at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Mr Oswago was confident the ballot papers would be delivered in the country on time.
"They (ballot papers) will arrive long in advance of the elections,” Mr Oswago said.
He said six to seven hired aircrafts will deliver the more than 500 tones of ballot papers in the country.
Mr Oswago said the IEBC has started transporting ballot boxes to various regions as the clock ticks towards Kenya’s 11th General Election.
“We are also printing the voter register,” Mr Oswago said.
Smith and Ouzman had stated it would take three weeks to print, package and ship the ballot papers to Kenya after clinching the tender.
IEBC was awaiting the clearance of candidates for various seats which ended last Friday before providing the names to Smith and Ouzman for the printing of the ballot papers.
IEBC has also written to the Public Procurement Oversight Authority expressing its confidence that Smith & Ouzman will deliver the papers on time.
“Smith and Ouzman has given IEBC all the necessary assurance that it will meet its contractual obligations on time and IEBC has undertaken due diligence on the matter,” IEBC chief executive officer James Oswago wrote to the authority's boss Morris Juma.
M Oswago expressed confidence the papers will be in the country in time for distribution to all the 33,000 polling stations across the country.
He could not, however, tell the exact date the papers will arrive for security reasons.
“We will inform you (journalists) about four hours before the aircrafts arrive,” Mr Oswago said.
The Commission expects the papers to be delivered to their warehouses at least 14 days before election or by February 18.
Considering the weight and the number of the papers – almost 100 million ballot papers - IEBC estimates that it will hire a number of chartered planes for delivery and this has to be planned for well in advance.
Smith and Ouzman is partnering with “trusted strategic partners” to deliver the contract in time and to specification, according to Mr Oswago’s letter to PPOA.
The British printer was the supplier of the ballot papers to the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) for the 2007 General Elections, the 2005 and 2010 referenda on the constitution and all by-elections since 2007.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment